19/02/2016

Exploring Places XXXVII: Chelyabinsk, Russia

Chelyabinsk is a city and the administrative center of
Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia, located in the northeast of the oblast, 210
kilometers south of Yekaterinburg, just to the east of the Ural Mountains, on
the Miass River, on the border of Europe and Asia.

Chelyabinsk is one of the major industrial centers of Russia. It has
tanneries and distilleries, and is the centre of the trade in corn and produce
of cattle for the Ural iron-works. The town was founded in 1658.

The Chelyabinsk meteor was a super bolide caused by a
near-Earth asteroid that entered Earth's atmosphere over Russia on 15 February
2013 at about 09:20 YEKT (03:20 UTC), with a speed of 19.16 ± 0.15 kilometres
per second. It quickly became a brilliant super bolide meteor over the southern
Ural region. The light from the meteor was brighter than the Sun, up to 100 km
away. It was observed over a wide area of the region and in neighbouring
republics. Some eyewitnesses also felt intense heat from the fireball. The
power of the explosion was about 500 kilotons of TNT (about 1,8 PJ), which is
20-30 times more energy than was released from the atomic bomb exploded in
Hiroshima. Only thanks to the high altitude of the explosion did the city
manage to avoid large casualties and destruction.

Chelyabinsk
is also famous for hosting the Eurojudo 2012 and World Championship Judo in
2014

During 3 days of the championships in Chelyabinsk the
strongest judokas of Europe were fighting for 14 medal sets in individual and
team competitions.

Chelyabinsk has 17 public parks. The largest of them
is one of the best in Russia - Chelyabinsk Central Park, named after Gagarin (a
Russian Soviet pilot and cosmonaut. He was the first human to journey into
outer space, when his Vostok spacecraft completed an orbit of the Earth on 12
April 1961). Its territory is saved in the urban forest, where, among pine
trees and granite rocks there are several picturesque ex-quarries now flooded
with water.

The most famous pedestrian street in Chelyabinsk is
Kirovka. Its beauty can be compared to
Moscow Arbat. The street is designed with life-size sculptures: proud chief of
police, modest peasant, light-hearted beggar, freelance artist in front of the
curved mirror, Russian left-hander Levsha. Guests of the city and local people
like taking pictures with them.

There is a mark of «zero mile» – a nominal border
between Europe and Asia, and monument devoted to the city founders. Sculpture
of saxophonist attracts young musicians every day. A bronze camel symbolizes
Chelyabinsk.

Children adore climbing on a carriage, looking like a
Cinderella’s one, and on a bright scarlet barrel with a gallant fireman
standing nearby. The firemen like that used to take water from Miass river two
centures ago for fire fighting.

This theatre is one of the several popular theaters in
this Russian town. Together with Chelyabinsk State Academic Opera and Ballet
Theatre named Glinka, Chelyabinsk State Chamber Theater Drama, Chelyabinsk
State Puppet Theater, Chelyabinsk State Youth Theatre, Theater
"Mannequin", Chelyabinsk New Arts Theatre, Chelyabinsk Contemporary
Dance Theatre

One of the most beloved leisure spots of the citizens,
having more than centenary history of its existence.

In the 80th of the 19th century instead of the park
there was the Fairground. In the center of the square there was a chapel where
church services in memory of the Great Russian commander Alexander Nevsky were
conducted. And when in 1907 the construction of Alexandro-Nevsky Church began
(in honor of Emperor Alexander II), the square received the name Alexandrovsky.

The
Sphere of Love

The Sphere of Love, undoubtedly, is the most romantic
and unusual sculpture in the entire Chelyabinsk. Every Saturday happy newlyweds
from the city come there to dance their first dance as spouses under the blue
dome.

The Chelyabinsk Museum of Local Lore and History is a
unique treasury of historical and cultural and spiritual heritage of the
region. About 300 thousands of subjects are stored in its funds including the exhibits
with all-Russian value.

The Museum building on the embankment of the Miass
River, constructed in 2006, is one of the most beautiful architectural
constructions of the city. It is situated in the place where at the beginning
of the XVIII century the Chelyabinsk fortress was founded. It is no coincidence
that external outlines of the building remind fortress towers and walls.

Holy Trinity Church is the oldest temple in
Chelyabinsk. It is only 30 years older than the city. The wooden church was
consecrated in 1768. In 1913 the Holy Trinity Church was born again. The worn
out temple was completely rebuilt according to architectural requirements for cathedrals.
It was consecrated on October 12, 1914 and has remained as it looks till today.
During the Revolution the church was closed and used for the needs of the city.
There were various institutions inside. The last «lord» was the Chelyabinsk
Regional Museum that occupied the building until 1990, when the building was
returned to the Russian Orthodox Church.

LIFESTYLE

Chelyabinsk has a population of more than a million
people. Until recently it looked like an ordinary big industrial city. However
the last few years have brought about a lot of changes. The historical
buildings in the city’s central streets have been renovated. The unique
architectural monuments now look quite modern while preserving the spirit of
previous times.

Although it is said that Chelyabinsk is one of the
most polluted cities in Russia due to the huge number of metallurgical
factories, it also has the largest national parks – Zyuratkul and Taganay with
their well-preserved ecosystems and it is also a land of lakes: over 3 thousand
water reservoirs with the purest water in the region.